'Maxxing' named 2026 Word of the Year by Dictionary.com
If it feels like the year 2026 has been filled to the max, this year's word of the year is fitting.
Dictionary.com on Monday named the word "maxxing" as its 2026 Word of the Year, defining it as "a word that refers to the practice of pursuing an activity to the fullest or optimizing a certain aspect of your life."
The word "maxxing" traces its roots back to maximum and max, according to Dictionary.com, and is most often used in combination with other words.
One of the biggest examples of "maxxing" over the past year is looksmaxxing, a self-improvement practice focused on maximizing physical appearance.
The term did not gain widespread notoriety until mostly male content creators began discussing it on social media platforms, such as TikTok, in the early 2020s, as reported on ABC News'"IMPACT x Nightline: LOOKSMAXXED" earlier this year.
Looksmaxxing spiked in interest this year, which was also the year that "maxxing" spiked in search and became a trend on its own, according to Dictionary.com.
The word functions as a verb and is now used on its own, i.e. "I'm maxxing everything in my life."
"Maxxing" is the latest word to go from use in social media and influencers to the mainstream. Last year, the words skibidi, delulu, tradwife and lewk were added to the Cambridge Dictionary.
Dictionary.com's 2025 Word of the Year was "67" -- pronounced "six-seven" -- which also traces its roots to social media.
The term is a result of classic brainrot slang, which is "purposefully nonsensical and all about being in on the absurdity," according to Dictionary.com.
